There continues to be a need for intraocular lens holders that support and protect the lens during the manufacturing process. The process of manufacturing an intraocular lens involves many complex manufacturing steps. For example, the lens may undergo polishing and/or cleaning during manufacturing of the lens. These steps of the manufacturing process provide an opportunity for the lens to be contacted and/or for particulate to accumulate near the lens, both of which, can cause damage to the lens. In that regard, the less a lens is touched during processing of the lens the better. Accordingly, for some applications it is desirable for a lens holder to be able to support and protect the lens from various particulate during the manufacturing of the lens while minimizing the touching of the lens.
Additionally, many in-process optical and dimensional measurements of the lens are taken at various progression points during the manufacturing of the lens. These measurements are taken to ensure that the lens being manufactured meets specified design requirements. Because of the precise nature of these measurements, the lens should be unobstructed from view and the lens should be held stationary to ensure that the various optical and dimensional measurements taken of the lens are accurate. Accordingly, for most applications it is desirable for a lens holder to hold the lens stationary, but also maintain pathways accessible during the manufacturing process that allow for performing optical and dimensional measurements of the lens.
Furthermore, potential damage to a lens can occur when the lens is transferred from a lens holder used during manufacturing to another lens holder that is used for packaging and shipping the lens to an end user (e.g. healthcare provider). Accordingly, it is desirable in some instances to have the same holder used during manufacturing to be usable for packaging purposes in order to simplify and reduce potential damage that might occur by transferring the lens to another holder for packaging and shipping purposes.
Accordingly, improved devices and methods for holding an intraocular lens during the processing and packaging of the lens are needed.